


Welcome to Earth-3

by bettername2come



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-26
Updated: 2016-09-17
Packaged: 2018-05-29 04:24:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 16,811
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6359221
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bettername2come/pseuds/bettername2come
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Zoom finally comes for the most important person in his life, Barry can think of no better place to hide Iris than a world Zoom has yet to visit - leaving her with the most powerful superhero he has ever met - Supergirl.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Kara Danvers, meet Iris West

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by a comment on the Previously.tv forums.

Iris West may not be a superhero, but she’s worked with enough of them. She’s faced off against supervillains and run-of-the-mill goons who shoot at her. She doesn’t scare easily.

Zoom, though? Zoom scares her. Zoom who left Barry broken and limp as a ragdoll. Zoom who kidnapped and tortured Jesse Wells for months. Zoom who terrifies supervillains. 

Zoom who’d abducted her and locked her in this…actually, Iris didn’t know where the hell she was. Because it was pitch black inside this room that seemed to have no doors or windows. Because who needs doors and windows when you can walk through walls? 

Iris wasn’t sure how long she’d been here. A day, maybe two. She hadn’t seen Zoom since he brought her here, whenever that was, on the night he stole into the West family home, took her out of her own bed, not thirty feet away from her own personal superhero, burning a message into the wall ( _she’s with me_ ) that would surely set off the smoke alarm and wake Barry and her father, but not soon enough. Not before Zoom could take her and move her to this undisclosed location. 

Where he’d left her to get hungrier and thirstier by the hour. Maybe that was his plan. Leave her to dehydrate in this room, send a message to The Flash about how powerless he is. As far as evil metahuman plans went, it sounded a little lame to Iris, but the more time passed, the more the idea of just being left alone to die terrified her. 

Suddenly light filled the room. Lightning, and Iris shrank back, screaming, pulling herself into the corner like it would do any good and pleading for her life and it took Barry’s voice in her ear to make her realize that the lightning was yellow, not blue. 

“Oh, my god, Barry,” she said, wrapping her arms around him and burying her head against the warm, familiar chest. 

“It’s okay. You’re okay, I got you,” Barry said, lifting her up into a bridal carry. “Just hold on to me really close, okay? I’m gonna get you out of here.” Iris held on to him as tightly as she could while he aimed straight for the wall. Barry didn’t stop when they were through it, though. He kept going, faster and farther than he’d ever taken her in all the times he’s rescued her and this felt wrong. Images blurred past Iris as he ran. People she’d never seen before, things that didn’t make any sense and just when she started to feel like her brain was going to explode with the weirdness of it all, Barry skidded to a stop in the middle of nowhere. 

“Barry, what the hell was that?” Iris asked, looking around. 

“Oh, crap,” Barry groaned. “Not again.” 

“Where are we? I don’t recognize this place.” 

Barry tugged his mask down and sighed, looking guilty. “That’s because we’re not in Central City anymore. Or…our Earth.” 

“I – this – this is Earth 2?” Iris spun around, taking in the open expanse of land with wide eyes, as if she expected her detective doppelganger to show up at any moment. 

“No. More like Earth-3, I guess?” 

“The one with your flying alien friend in a cape?” 

“Okay, when you say it like that it sounds ridiculous.” 

“Our lives are ridiculous, Barry, get used to it.” And part of her was glad to have something to focus on, so she didn’t just fall to the floor sobbing at her near death experience. “You just ran here by mistake?” 

Barry shrugged. “I – I was just trying to get you away from Zoom to somewhere safe fast, and I ended up here.” He sighed. “Which may not be such a bad thing.” 

“What are you talking about?” 

“Zoom took you to get to me.” 

A shudder passed through Iris. “I’m aware.” 

“You’re not safe on our Earth, Iris!” 

“So? I haven’t been safe for years, Barry, why should now be any different?” 

“Because you die!” Barry shouted. 

Iris froze. From the shock of the statement or the absolute desperation in his voice, Iris didn’t know. 

Barry took a breath, calmed himself. “You die,” he said quietly. “Zoom puts his hand through your head.” 

“How do you – “Iris started before she remembered. “Cisco. Cisco vibed the future.” 

“He was looking for you,” Barry said. “He was trying to get a read on your location and that’s what he saw. He thought it was the past at first, when he told me, I – “ Barry shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. Wells realized what was happening, and Cisco looked again, found your real location, that basement in Opal City. But he still saw it, Iris. It’s still in the future.” 

“You’ve stopped Cisco’s visions from coming true before. You’ll stop this one.” 

“Yeah. I will. By going back alone and stopping Zoom. Once and for all.” 

“Alone?” Iris exclaimed. “What do you mean _alone_? You’re just going to leave me stranded on another world?” 

Barry shook his head again. “No, not stranded. I have friends here. They can help you. Zoom won’t know to look for you here. They’ve never even heard of him on this earth. 

And even if he does, Supergirl’s powers are different than ours. Maybe she can fight him off better.” Barry looked down, avoiding Iris’s gaze. “I can’t protect you. Not on our earth.” 

“You’re serious.” 

“I can’t lose you, Iris.” He sighed. “Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe we can find another way. Felicity can probably set you up with a really sweet fake identity. Lily East, maybe? Or is that just a little too obvious?” 

“This isn’t funny.” 

“I’m not laughing. Look, Iris, it’s your life. It’s your choice. I think you’ll be safer here. But if you don’t think so, or you’d rather go home, I’ll take you back.” 

Iris studied the deserted landscape, so different from where she’d been only moments before. The idea of facing Zoom again scared her more than she cared to admit, especially because her escape was sure to have angered him. “Do you really think I’ll be okay here?” 

Barry seemed to consider all the possibilities before answering. “Yes, I do.” 

“And you think we can trust this…Supergirl?” 

“She’s one of the kindest, bravest people I’ve ever met,” Barry said certainly. “She can help. I’m sure of it.” 

Iris nodded. “Okay. Call her.” She was about to ask if his cell phone worked on alternate earths, but instead Barry just leaned his head back, cupped his hands around his mouth and bellowed, “SUPERGIRL HELP!” 

Iris stared at him in bewilderment. 

Barry just shrugged. “She’s got really good hearing.” 

He seemed to be right, though. A moment later, a blue blur was streaking across the sky, right before a woman with dark blonde hair and yes, an honest-to-God cape settled down with surprising force in front of them. “Barry, are you okay? I thought after last time you – you brought a friend.” 

“Kara Danvers meet Iris West. Iris, meet Kara. Or as she’s more popularly known around here, Supergirl.”


	2. The Constants of the Multiverse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Kara and Iris actually talk and Joe finds out Barry left his daughter on another world.

“Nice to meet you,” Kara said, shaking Iris’s hand. She turned to Barry. “Not that I’m not happy to see you and see that you made it back to your world safely, but what are you doing here?”

“Remember when I told you I was the fastest man alive?” Barry said. “I kinda lied. The fastest man alive is actually this really scary dude named Zoom. Super evil, wants to steal my speed, wants to kill me, threatening my friends and family to do it, he kidnapped Iris, I rescued her, and now Zoom’s really pissed off. Can she hide out here?”

Kara startled. “Hide here? Like this earth? You don’t have a safe place on your earth?”

“No matter where we go he’ll find her eventually. He’s not even _from_ our earth and he still got there and managed to take Iris. You said you’d never heard of him. I’m guessing that means he hasn’t visited this earth before, and since neither me nor any of my friends exist here, he probably won’t come looking anytime soon. Please,” Barry pleaded. “I can’t lose her.”

Kara held up her hand. “Relax, she can stay. I’d be a complete hypocrite if I didn’t take in refugees from other worlds.” She turned towards Iris. “Despite what my sister might say I am an excellent roommate. And a pretty good superhero. You’ll be safe here.”

Iris didn’t respond, her eyes slightly glazed over.

Kara reached a hand out to her shoulder. “Hey, Iris, are you okay?”

“Thirsty,” she managed to croak before her knees gave way and she crumpled to the ground, Barry catching her just before she hit.

He lifted her in his arms. “Is there somewhere we can go?” he asked Kara.

“Yeah, my apartment,” Kara replied. “Follow me.” She took off back into the sky, with Barry keeping pace on the ground.

*

Thirty minutes, two bottles of water and a change of clothes later, and Iris was feeling much more like herself. Enough to wish she had her phone with her so she could record an interview with the superheroine in front of her and ask the millions of questions running through her mind – where did she come from, what were her powers, were there other superheroes on this world, and last but not least, where did she get those gorgeous, red over-the-knee boots? Because those needed to be in Iris’s wardrobe _now_.

“I’m fine,” she said, sitting up a little straighter on the couch to prove her point.

But that didn’t stop the two superhumans from staring at her like she was made of glass, like she was about to break. Which she was not. Nope. Totally fine.

And beneath the worry etching itself into the lines on Barry’s forehead were his eyes that kept flickering around the room, like he was looking for a clock, eager to get back home and get started on defeating Zoom.

“You can go, Barry,” Iris said. “I’ll be all right. Really.”

Barry stood up. “I promise I’ll be back as soon as I can. I will stop him.”

Iris nodded. “I know.” She rose, enveloping him in a tight hug that he quickly returned. “I love you,” she whispered.

“I love you, too.” He pulled back, casting another long look at Iris. Regret? Worry? Something else? She couldn’t quite tell.

“Do you need a boost?” Kara asked. “Getting home?”

Barry shook his head. “No. I’ve got to be able to do it on my own if I want to be able to get back here.” He reached forward giving Kara a quick hug. “Take care of her,” he whispered.

“Of course,” Kara whispered back.

Barry pulled away, turning back to Iris. “You sure you’ll be okay?”

“Just go,” Iris said. She forced herself to smile. “Before I change my mind.”

Barry nodded, tugging the mask back over his face, and then he was gone in a streak of yellow lightning.

Kara turned back to Iris, putting on her biggest smile. “So, first day on a new world. What do you want to do?”

Iris laughed. “Sleep,” she answered truthfully. “Then questions. Lots of questions. With alcohol. You do have alcohol here, right?”

“I think that may be the one constant in the multiverse.”

*

“Wait, you just left Iris on Earth-3 with your super-hot alien friend?” Cisco blurted out when Barry was finished explaining to Caitlin and Cisco what had happened.

Barry rolled his eyes. “How do you know Kara’s super-hot? You’ve never even met her.”

“No, but I saw the same weird tunnel of images you did when we went to Earth-2 and there was a flying blonde in a red and blue suit. Are you telling me that wasn’t her?”

“No, that was her.” Barry sighed. “I didn’t know what else to do, Cisco. Zoom knows how I feel about Iris. On more than one earth. There’s no way she would have been safe here. She wasn’t safe in her own home with me right down the hall.”

“Hey, I’m not saying you made the wrong call,” Cisco said. “I’m definitely Team Keep Iris Alive. I’m just thinking about how Joe’s going to take it when you tell him you stranded his only daughter on another world with no way to get back.”

“You did what?” Joe said, walking back into STAR Labs, exhausted and looking disheveled from his night of searching for Iris.

“Oh, crap,” Cisco said, squeezing his eyes shut. “Did not mean to do that, buddy. Sorry.”

Barry stepped forward. “Relax, Joe. I got her. She’s not with Zoom anymore. She’s safe. She’s staying with a friend.”

“Cisco just said she’s stranded on another world.”

“She’s not stranded. I can pick her back up. I’ve already been into that world twice.”

“By accident,” Cisco muttered, earning him a glare from Barry. “What? I would have pointed this out beforehand if I’d had any say in the decision-making process.”

“You’re the one who told me she died!” Barry exclaimed.

“Whoa, wait, _died_?” Joe said.

“Relax, not for real,” Cisco said. “In a vibe, which seems unlikely to happen now that Iris is in another universe. I mean, I haven’t exactly mastered vibing alternate universes, much less the future of them.”

“So she’s safe?” Joe asked, turning back to Barry. “You really think Iris is safe?”

“We don’t exist in that universe. No Iris West, no Barry Allen, no Jay Garrick. Zoom has no reason to go there. They’ve never even heard of him on that earth. Iris is with the most powerful person I’ve ever met. She’ll be okay. All we have to do is - ”

“-is defeat the scariest metahuman in two worlds,” Cisco finished.

“Who snapped your spine the first time you fought. And kidnapped you and locked you in a nearly meta-proof prison the second,” Caitlin said.

Barry frowned.

“Oh, like we weren’t all thinking it.”

“I’m not saying it’ll be easy,” Barry said. “But we have to. For Iris.”

*

“So is Barry your boyfriend?” Kara asked, making Iris choke on a mouthful of lo mein. Although to Kara’s credit, she had waited until Iris had taken a nap, gotten the food and wine she had so desperately needed, and until they were on their second episode of _Jessica Jones_ (one of many similarities between worlds) to ask the inevitable question.

“No,” Iris answered.

“I thought it was kind of weird that there was no goodbye kiss,” Kara mused. “So, what’s the story there, then? You two are obviously very close.”

“Close enough that he didn’t mention me on his trip here?” Iris asked.

“Well, he was only here a day. We didn’t have time to delve too deep into life on his earth. It was mostly ‘You can run fast?! Me too!’ and ‘Man, being a superhero sucks sometimes, doesn’t it?’ And then of course, the crimefighting.”

Iris laughed. “Well, he’s my best friend. He’s more than that, actually. He’s family. My dad took him in after his mother was murdered, and his father was framed for it.”

“He –he didn’t tell me that.”

“It’s not something he opens with.” Iris waved her hand. “It’s a long story. Time travel. Supervillain with a grudge. Long story short, the Reverse Flash is gone, his father’s out of prison, and Barry came out a stronger person for it.” Iris turned her gaze back on the TV. “So what’s your story?” she asked, trying not to sound too eager.

“My planet blew up when I was thirteen,” Kara said, her tone too casual for the words being spoken. “My parents sent me to this planet to save me. My aunt and uncle sent my cousin. I was supposed to look out for him, only my ship got knocked off course. I ended up stuck in the Phantom Zone for years, asleep, didn’t age and when I got here and woke up, my baby cousin was all grown up and a superhero. He got me placed with my adoptive family and I’ve been Kara Danvers ever since. And Supergirl for about six months ever since my adoptive sister almost died in a plane crash.”

“Wait, there’s more of you? You have a superhero cousin?”

Kara looked at her strangely, and then shook her head. “Right, other world. You haven’t heard of him. Superman. He’s kind of a big deal here.”

“Supergirl. Superman. ‘It’s a whole family of supers!’” Iris quoted. “ _The Incredibles_ ,” she explained. “Do you have that movie here or do I just sound really strange?”

“No, we have that one. Winn’s actually already beaten you to that joke.”

“Winn?”

“He’s a friend. We work together. He made my costume. He and Barry really hit it off when he visited.”

“Of course they did,” Iris said. “He’s your Cisco.”

“That name sounds familiar. STAR Labs?”

Iris rolled her eyes. “Oh, sure him he mentions. Cisco makes the supersuits back home. For almost all the heroes. And gadgets. Lots of gadgets. He’s actually kind of the reason I’m here.”

Kara looked at her curiously, waiting for her to continue.

“Cisco’s a metahuman – is that the word here?” – Kara nodded – “he’s a metahuman who has these visions – past, present, future, other timelines. When I got…kidnapped by Zoom, he started looking for me with his powers. Which worked, but only after he had a vision of me getting murdered by Zoom.” Iris gestured towards herself. “So here I am.”

“I’m sorry,” Kara said.

“It’s fine,” Iris replied quickly. “It’s not the first time a bad guy’s wanted me dead. Probably won’t be the last.”

“Yeah, been there,” Kara said. They both turned their attention back to the TV just in time to hear Jessica threaten some jerk with her “laser eyes.” Kara rolled her eyes. “That’s not even how they work. They would totally leave a trace.”

Iris stared at her in disbelief. “No.”

“What?”

“You can’t.”

Kara smiled. "Well, I don't call them 'laser eyes.'"

“For real? Is there any pattern to your powers or do you just have the whole smorgasbord of superhuman abilities?”

Kara shrugged. “You’ll just have to wait and see.”


	3. Iris Meets Cat Grant

When Iris awoke the next morning, she was surprised to see Kara zipping around the kitchen at speeds that rivaled Barry’s. Kara noticed her guest had awoken and stopped, smiling sheepishly at Iris. “Sorry,” she said. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”

Iris stood up, stretching. “No, it’s fine, I should probably get up and…wait, I have no identification, no job, technically don’t exist on this earth, and have nowhere to be.” She sat down at the kitchen table. “There’s a depressing thought.”

Kara passed her a cup of coffee and sat down across from her. “I was actually thinking about that. I might have some friends who could maybe forge some legal documents if you wanted a normal – well, semi-normal – life here for however long you’re staying. What do you do on your earth?”

“I’m a reporter.”

Kara’s eyes lit up with glee behind her glasses. “You’re kidding me! Oh my gosh, that’s perfect!”

Iris stared at her in confusion. “Why is that perfect?”

“Because I work for Cat Grant!” Kara exclaimed. Seeing that the name did nothing to help Iris understand, she went on, “Right, different earth. Cat Grant aka The Queen of All Media, the owner of CatCo Worldwide Media, one the most powerful media groups in the world.”

“That’s impressive. But I don’t have any of my stories here. I can’t prove I’m a good journalist.”

Kara shrugged. “So we tell her the truth. She already knows Barry’s The Flash, and she kept that one to herself. I’m sure she’d be willing to give his friend who’s in trouble a chance at a job. At least if you can back up that chance with a decent story.”

Iris choked on her mouthful of coffee. “What? She figured out his secret identity in a day? And it’s still, well, a secret?”

“He saved her life. Plus, after a Google search revealed absolutely nothing about any Barry Allen, she might have decided outing his secret identity wasn’t worth it.” Kara laughed. “I also think he may be the only person to ever call her a ‘nice lady.’ So, what do you think? You think it’s worth talking to her?”

“Do you think that’s a good idea? Going back to writing? In a city with superheroes? If Zoom does come to this world, don’t you think that’s the first place he would look?”

“Well, he would look for you in Central City, right? And you’ll use a pen name. Besides, Supergirl’s your roommate. I think you’ll be safe.”

“Yeah, well, The Flash was my housemate on my earth,” Iris said. “Lotta good that did me.”

“You and Barry still – not important. And not to oversell myself, but I’m kinda badass. And I’m pretty sure I can take this Zoom character if it comes down to it. He has the same powers as Flash, right?”

“Yes, but – “

“Then it shouldn’t be a problem. Barry’s faster than me, probably, but I have I have so many more powers than him. I think I can handle his nemesis.”

“Kara, I don’t want you to – “

“I said I would protect you, Iris,” Kara said seriously. “And I will. I promise. But if you’d feel safer hiding out in my apartment…”

Iris held up her hand. “Okay, I get it. Not much point in switching universes if I don’t at least try to have a life. I’ll talk to this Cat Grant person.” Iris gestured towards the t-shirt and pajama pants she was wearing. “Of course, until I actually get a paycheck, I’m gonna have to keep borrowing your clothes.”

Kara pointed towards the clothes rack. “Go for it,” she said, glancing at her watch. “But you better hurry. If we don’t get there soon, _I’m_ not going to have a job anymore.”

*

Twenty minutes later, Iris was following Kara into Catco in a black dress that Kara had shuddered at and insisted she keep along with a pink jacket, asking a million questions as they went, some of Kara’s perky attitude chipping away with each one. _Yes, the outfit looks good. No, we don’t have a company called Palmer Tech. No, there’s no billionaire named Oliver Queen. Yes, Obama’s the President. No, there’s no_ Central City Picture News _. No, I’ve never heard of a Mason Bridge._

Finally, as they were stepping off the (thankfully, otherwise empty elevator), Kara turned around and held up her hand. “Okay, you’re gonna have to stop asking those questions now that people can hear you.”

Iris nodded. “Right, I know. It’s just – exciting and weird, visiting a new earth. I’m just trying to wrap my head around it all.

“I get that, believe me, but that’s exactly the kind of thing you need to stop saying in public,” Kara said, ushering Iris over to Winn’s desk. “Winn, this is Iris. She’s a friend of Barry’s.”

Winn stood up and held out his hand. “Hi, nice to meet – wait, Barry as in – “ he made a quick motion with his hands – “fwoosh – Barry?”

“As in The Flash, yes,” Iris whispered.

Winn’s eyes widened. “So you know…?” he trailed off pointing to Kara.

“Yeah, I got the memo,” Iris said. “Also, she doesn’t wear a mask, so it’s kind of obvious.”

“It’s not _that_ obvious,” Kara said. She turned to Winn. “Do you think it’s that obvious?”

Winn shrugged. “I wouldn't say it's that – oh, look Cat’s here.”

Kara walked up to Cat, handing her a latte. “Good morning, Ms. Grant. Here’s your latte, extra hot, and I have a reporter who wanted to speak to you regarding an exclusive story.”

Cat took off her sunglasses and sighed at Kara as she took the coffee. “Keira, the HR department is downstairs, you can direct your friend there. I barely have time for people I’ve already selected to be employees here.” She started to walk away but her path was blocked as Iris walked up to her, her hand outstretched and a smile unwavering on her lips.

“Excuse me, Ms. Grant, Iris West. I’m sorry I don’t think Kara’s making my case clear. I was told by a mutual friend that you were the only news organization I could trust. He thought we could help each other.”

Cat eyed Iris carefully, her brows lifting slightly with curiosity. “Mutual friend?”

“Barry Allen.”

“You have five minutes,” Cat said, walking towards her office. “Keira, you might as well come, too. I don’t need you smudging the glass trying to listen in at the door.” Cat settled onto the couch and directed the girls to seats across from her. “Tell me, how do you know Mr. Allen? Wait, let me guess – he’s your cousin?”

“What? No, he’s not my – I mean, he is family, yes, but…” Iris took a deep breath and tried again. “We’re not biologically or legally related. He’s been my best friend since we were kids, my father raised him from the time he was eleven and I’ve been reporting on his superheroics since 2014.”

“The Flash only made his first public appearance a few weeks ago when he saved Keira from that twenty story fall.”

“His first appearance here, yes,” Iris said.

“Oh, just spit it out, we don’t have time for dramatic effect.”

“Barry and I are from an alternate universe, I was threatened by a very dangerous supervillain named Zoom who has killed hundreds of people, Barry sent me here because Zoom has never been to this world before, he thought Supergirl could protect me better than he could, and he believed that you, Kara, James and Winn could be trusted with the truth because you kept his secret last time. He trusted you would be discrete,” Iris said quickly blending truth with fiction as she spoke. “How many minutes do I have left?”

“Your story sounds a little farfetched,” Cat said.

“Compared to what? Compared to the flying aliens in tights that run around in this world?” Iris asked. “If I wanted to lie to get a job with CatCo, don’t you think I would have come up with something simpler than ‘a metahuman sent me from a parallel dimension?’”

Cat turned to Kara. “And what do you think of this story?”

Kara shrugged. “Barry told me all this when he and Supergirl brought her to my place. And it does match up with why you weren’t able to find any trace of Barry Allen or The Flash anywhere else – if he did exist somewhere on this earth I’m sure you would have been able to get a lead on him.”

Cat sighed. “Drop the flattery, Keira. Your friend can stay.”

“I can?”

“She can?”

“Provided that you follow through on what you’re offering. You say Supergirl can corroborate you story – fine, get her to. You also say you’ve reported on The Flash?”

“More than anyone in my world, but that's not all I can do. I have other stories.”

“I don’t imagine you have any of your previous work with you. Then you’ll need to prove yourself with a story here. You have twenty-four hours to get a story worthy of _The Tribune_ , Irene. Then the reporting job is all yours.”


	4. In Which Iris Discovers That Superheroes, Sidekicks and Pulitzers Go Together

Iris followed Kara and Winn to their secret base of operations. “So you just do all the superheroics in an empty office inside one of the largest media corporations in the world?”

“Admit it, though,” Winn said. “It’s the last place you would look. So how’s it compare to the setup on your earth? ”

“Not actually as impressive as STAR Labs,” Iris admitted. “But it’s hard to compete with a nearly defunct super-science facility.” She shook her head. “Not the point. She said I have twenty-four hours to get a story worthy of _The Tribune_. And to get Supergirl to vouch for me.” She turned to Kara. “Well, the second one shouldn’t be too hard. You can fly up there and give me the superhero endorsement right now.”

Kara shook her head. “No. Sorry. Not until we can talk to James. He’s supposedly the one who’s able to contact Supergirl.”

“And don’t worry about the story,” Winn said. “This is National City. You can pretty much depend on a supervillain popping up daily.”

James rushed into the room, slamming the door behind him. “I got your text. What’s going on?” He noticed Iris, who gave a small wave. “Why is there a new girl in our secret hideout?”

“She’s a friend of Barry’s,” Winn said, a smile pulling at the corners of his lips.

“Oh, Barry’s back?” James asked, annoyance seeping into his tone despite the friendly grin on his face.

“No,” Kara said. “He went home. He was just dropping Iris off.”

“Dropping Iris off?”

“From the other universe,” Winn supplied.

“It’s a long story,” Iris said. “Villains, in hiding, staying with Kara for a while, and currently more concerned with trying to get a story, so Cat Grant will give me the reporter job. It’s bad enough being hunted by a supervillain, and then a marooned in an alternate universe. I don’t need ‘unemployed’ on my list of problems too.”

“You’re a reporter?” James said, his eyes brightening.

“Yes, I am,” Iris said. “Barry really didn’t mention me?”

“I think Barry was a little more concerned with getting home than talking about it,” Winn said. “Also, what is it with reporters and superheroes? You’d think they’d try to keep away from the people who write exposés not date them.”

“Barry and I aren’t dating,” Iris said quickly.

“I just assumed – wrongly, apparently – because it seems to be the habit on this earth,” Winn said, glancing back and forth between Kara and James, who rolled his eyes.

“Lois and Clark seem to make it work,” James said. “Probably doesn’t hurt that Clark’s a pretty good reporter in his own right.”

“Pretty good?” Kara said. “He has a Pulitzer.” She turned back to Iris. “My cousin,” she explained.

“Your cousin the Superman? He’s a Pulitzer winner and a superhero? Okay, I have got to meet this guy,” Iris said.

James smiled. “I’ll see if I can set something up with the big guy.”

Winn’s jaw dropped. “You’ll introduce her to Clark and you won’t introduce me?”

“You do realize you’ve technically never asked me to introduce you, right?” James said.

“Or me,” Kara said. “Of course, an interview with Superman isn’t going to cut it. Cat wants something new.”

Winn jumped to the computer. “All right, scanning for any unusual activity. The second Supergirl gets a a bad guy to punch, Iris can get her story.”

The words were barely out of his mouth before the screen lit up. “We got a hit. Social media reports say there’s a ‘flaming lava woman’ in National City Park.” Winn snorted. “What next, Shark Boy?”

“No, he’s on my earth,” Iris said, swiveling the screen towards her.

“What? You’re – you’re serious?”

“Well, he’s a grown man and we call him King Shark, but yeah, same concept.” Iris turned back to Kara. “Okay, so drop me off near the scene of the crime, I get the story?”

“Let me get my camera,” James said. “Cat’s gonna want a great photo to go with that copy.” James took off back for his desk.

“He’s a photographer?” Iris asked.

“The best,” Kara said admiringly. “He won a Pulitzer for getting the first shot of Superman.”

Iris’s jaw dropped. “What? No way!”

Kara looked at her strangely. “Yes, he did. I’ve seen the photo.”

“I got the first photo of The Flash. Where’s my Pulitzer?”

Kara rolled her eyes. “Well, maybe you can get one here.” Kara jerked open the button up top she was wearing, revealing the S of her suit. She grabbed Iris’s hand, pulling her towards the open window. “Come on, we’ve both got work to do.”


	5. In Which Iris Actually Gets to Visit the Top Secret Organization that the Superheroes Work With

Iris was not afraid of heights. She’s jumped from ten-story buildings and spent plenty of time hanging out on rooftops. She was not afraid of heights. Or at least that’s what she was telling herself over and over again as she flew through the air clutched to the side of a woman she had only met the day before.

_Never again_ , she decided. _Next time, taxi. Definitely a taxi._

“You okay?” Kara asked.

“Yeah, super,” Iris said. “Are we there yet?”

Kara smiled, taking Iris to the ground a few blocks away from where smoke was rising into the air. “Would it do you any good to tell you to be careful?” Kara asked.

“I’m always careful,” Iris said. “Go!”

Kara looked doubtful, but flew the rest of the distance to the scene of the attack.

Iris ran the rest of the distance to join the awestruck onlookers, pulling a notebook and pen from the purse she had borrowed from Kara, making a mental note of all the things she would be buying with her first paycheck, starting with whatever passed for an iPhone on this earth.

The two superhumans hovered in the air, circling each other and from the look of it, hurling insults at each other. Iris wrote furiously, afraid to forget anything she saw. The lava woman reminded Iris so much of Firestorm. She tried to remember everything she’d ever written about them to recycle her descriptions.

“You two really couldn’t wait for me to get the camera, could you?” James asked, shooting away at Iris’s side.  

“I wasn’t really in a position to argue. What with being carried over the city, one slip away from going splat.”

James laughed. “First time I flew with Clark, I had the same thought. Don’t worry. You’re in good hands.”

A blast of fire shot from Lava Girl’s hands, hitting Supergirl, but not doing much more than annoying her.  Supergirl fired back, not with the laser eyes, like Iris had been hoping but instead frozen ice crystals flew from her mouth, dousing the flames. Lava Girl sank like a stone, seemingly unconscious,  suddenly looking small and innocent without the molten red glow. Kara dove down, catching her at the last minute before rising back into the air and disappearing into the distance, the other woman cradled in her arms.

Iris continued her writing furiously, before any details could be lost, hoping Kara would fill her in on some exclusive details afterward. “Ice breath? She has ice breath. Okay, that’s a thing. Write about it like it’s normal and not something totally bizarre and unexpected. Got it.”

“You get used to the weirdness,” James said, still taking shots of the damaged building and the firefighters’ work to put out the last of the flames.

Iris nodded. “I know. My best friend is a time traveler who walks through walls, remember? I just didn’t expect Supergirl to go all Killer Frost.”

“Killer Frost?”

“Long story. Evil ice queen doppelganger of Caitlin Snow, because the universe has a sense of humor.” Iris gestured back to the sky. “Where’s she taking her?”

“Barry set the police up with metahuman-proof cells when he visited. That is, if she’s from earth. Aliens  fall under DEO jurisdiction.”

“DEO?” Iris asked.  “I don’t think we have that acronym on my earth.”

“You might, actually. It’s top secret. But if I say anything more, I might incur the wrath of both Danvers sisters and my ex-girlfriend. Frankly, I’m not sure which of the three scares me more.”

Iris resisted the urge to ask more questions about secret organization and held up the notepad. “I need to go write this up. Split a cab back to Catco and let me borrow a computer?”

*

Cat read through the copy on the iPad. Iris fought the compulsion to bite her nails or question Cat on what she thought of every one of her sentences. “Nice prose style, vivid description and an actual quote from Supergirl never fails to win the public’s adoration. It’s a good start.”

Iris wanted to jump up and down, but that probably would have killed whatever professionalism she had managed to project. She settled instead for putting on her best smile. “Thank you, Ms. Grant.”

Cat passed the tablet to Kara. “Keira, contact payroll. Get your friend her payment for the story, and then take this to James for the website and morning edition. I’m assuming he has photos to go with this.” Cat eyed Iris over the top of her glasses. “Have you figured out what name to put on the check? And the article. I’m assuming you don’t want to want to put your real name out there. It defeats the purpose of universe-hopping to escape a villain.”

Iris thought for a moment, aliases swirling in her head, East, Thawne, Allen, Lily, Nora, before she blurted out, “Irene Josephson.”

Cat shrugged. “I’d change the first name, too, but it’s your life. Keira, find her a desk in the _Tribune_ offices. I’m assuming _someone_ ” – she cast a glance through the glass doors at Winn – “will be getting me something resembling proper documentation before tomorrow.”

“Right. On it,” Kara said, pulling Iris after her over to Winn’s desk. “Hey, can you forge some legal documents for me? Well, her?” Kara asked, pointing to Iris.

“I guess this means you got the job. Congratulations.” Winn cocked his head to the side, turning to Kara. “But doesn’t this seem like more of a DEO thing? ‘Cause the forgery I can do, no problem. Making her pass a background check? That’s gonna be a little harder.”

Kara turned and smiled at Iris. “Want to visit a top-secret government facility?”

Iris couldn’t help the laugh that escaped her lips. “I love this earth.”

*

“Wait, so let me get this straight. Barry’s friends with the director of secret spy organization, and you’ve never even met her?”

“Or her husband. Who’s not a secret agent, just a superhero.” Iris paused. “Well, not so much super. Just a hero. A really good one, apparently. Who wears a mask.”

“All right, I get it, you think masks are a better idea than glasses.”

“Oh my god, is that a spaceship?” Iris giddily ran over to the ship. “This is incredible.” Iris groaned. “Why can I never report on the most exciting stories?”

Lucy Lane walked over. “Supergirl, why do you keep bringing your friends into the DEO? It’s a government facility not a clubhouse.”

“She’s a friend of Barry Allen’s. From a parallel universe, which I think falls under the umbrella of ‘Extra-normal.’”

“That’s me. Extra-normal Iris West.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So let's say this goes AU in The Flash 2x18, and instead of Wally and Caitlin getting kidnapped, Zoom went for Iris. And instead of giving up his powers, Barry made a smart decision.


	6. Secrets, Threats and Really, Really Long Distance Calls

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trying to keep this as in line with what we've learned about Zoom since I started posting without contradicting anything.

Barry hadn’t expected him to come looking for him, but maybe he should have. He was working at his lab in the police station, trying to get through his regular cases quickly so he could return to his plan to stop Zoom/Jay/Hunter/whatever the hell his name was, when Wally walked through the door.

“Where is she?” Wally asked with a stern determined look in his eye that Barry had seen many times growing up. “She was supposed to meet me for lunch yesterday. She’s not returning my calls and when I stopped by the paper, her boss said I should ask you.”

“She’s safe. She’s out of town.”

“ _Where’s my sister_?” Wally repeated, sounding more worried.

Barry sighed. “One of The Flash’s enemies threatened her. She’s with a friend of his. She’s safe. We just can’t contact her now. It’s like…witness protection.”

Wally shook his head. “Zoom. That’s the name, right, of that crazy… _thing_ that hurt The Flash a few months back? That’s who threatened her, isn’t it?”

Barry nodded.

“What are you gonna do?”

“What am _I_ gonna-?”

“I know, Barry. I know you’re The Flash.”

Barry chuckled nervously. “I’m not – why would you – ?”

“Because I’ve seen The Flash with Iris and I’ve seen you with Iris. Because there’s a reason Zoom showed up at Picture News and the CCPD that night and they’re both named West. Because you disappeared at the house right before The Flash showed up to fight Shark Man.” Wally waited for Barry to deny it again.

“Wally,” Barry said. “I just don’t want to bring more people into this. I’ve put enough people in danger.”

“It’s my family, too. I’m involved whether you want me to be or not.”

“Okay. Okay, I hear you.”

“How can I help?”

Barry pulled up the screen on his bulletin board. “We’re trying to take away Zoom’s speed. We take away his power, his threats are useless, we keep Iris safe. We keep everyone safe.”

Wally nodded. “Okay. Speed I get. Let’s do this.”

*

Wally geeked out at the sight of STAR Labs. Just like Barry suspected he would. And no, he didn’t have more experience with the speed force than Barry or Cisco, but he was another set of eyes and he had good ideas. Things were actually going pretty well until Jay showed up. He just waltzed in. All the lies, all the betraya,l and Jay just strolled right in like it was nothing. Not dressed in his suit, just his old leather jacket, like he was there to help stop the metahuman of the week instead of terrorize Team Flash.

Barry sped to him, slammed him against the wall. “What the hell are you doing here?” Barry tried to move him before he could answer, get Jay to the pipeline, but he was out of Barry’s grasp and had Barry pinned to the wall, his hand gripped tight around Barry’s throat.

“Is that how you greet all your old friends?” Jay asked, laughing.

“We’re not friends,” Cisco said, firing up the weapon.

The smile fell from Jay’s face. “We both know I can kill everyone in this room before you pull the trigger, Vibe. Put it down.”

Cisco kept the gun trained on Jay for a moment, his eyes flickering between Wally, Caitlin and Barry before lowering the gun.

“Smart choice, Cisco. Nice to see your friends are still the priority.” Jay let go of Barry, dropping him to the ground. “I have to say, using your powers to track down Iris. It was rather impressive. I don’t think Reverb could have done it better himself. But you remember what happened to him.”

“You’re not going to find her,” Barry said.

Zoom laughed. “She’s not the only person you care for, Flash. I can pull this same trick with anyone you care about. You can’t send them all to alternate earths.”

The color drained from Barry’s face. He had figured it out.

“Oh, come on, Barry. You really thought I wouldn’t see through your plan? I’ve searched the globe for your Iris and I haven’t been able to find her.” Zoom moved closer. “Which means she’s not on this earth. Which means you sent her to another. And if you sent her to another earth, it means there’s another world with people you care about. People you trust enough to protect the one person you value over anyone else. Guess what, Flash? If you can get there, I can get there.” He laughed again. “I thought conquering two earths would be enough, but you had to push me one further. I will find this world you’re hiding and I will get your speed. And then I will bring down every world you know and kill everyone you love.” He glanced back over his shoulder to Caitlin. “Well, almost everyone.” He turned back to Barry. “See you soon, Flash.” And with that, Zoom sped off.

“That’s Zoom?” Wally said. “I think he’s scarier without the mask.”

“Not wrong about that,” Caitlin said. “What are we going to do?”

Barry felt his heart pounding even faster than normal as he turned to Cisco. “We need to warn Kara. Now.”

“I’ve never met her, Barry,” Cisco said. “I’ve never been to her world, either of them; I don’t have any connection to her. I can’t find someone I have no connection to. My powers don’t work like that.”

“Then get a message to Iris.”

*

Iris checked out her shiny new falsified driver’s license. “You know, I’ve never had a fake ID before. Cop dads can be such a buzzkill.”

“Ka-Supergirl!” Alex called. "You can't just keep bringing people here."

Kara held up her had to her sister. “It’s fine, Alex. She’s a friend. She knows everything. She’s already cleared security with Lucy.” 

“Everything?” Alex asked, raising an eyebrow.

Iris nodded. “Aliens. Shapeshifters. Covert ops. I got it. Trust me. I can keep a secret.”

Alex said something else to her, but Iris didn’t hear it. She was distracted by a familiar voice, calling her name as though from a long distance away. “Iris!”

“Cisco?” Iris said.

“Who the hell is Cisco?” Alex asked, looking around.

“Your psychic friend?” Kara asked, earning a confused look from Alex. “Long story.”

“Ha. It worked! You can hear me. You need to tell Supergirl. Zoom knows you left our earth. He doesn’t know where you are yet, but he’s looking for you. You have to warn Kara. Her world is in danger.”

Iris groaned. “Oh, not again.”


	7. Security Updates Required

“Not again what? What the hell is going on?” Alex asked.

“It’s Cisco. He’s talking to me.” His voice came through loud and clear, and though Iris could sense his presence in the room, she couldn’t see him no matter which way she turned. She wondered vaguely if this was what being haunted felt like.

“From another world? He can talk to you from another universe?” Alex asked. She turned to Kara. “How can he do that?”

“You’re asking me? I’ve never met the guy,” Kara said.

“Zoom’s coming. He knows I’m here,” Iris said.

“It’s not just you,” Cisco said. “He knows there’s a whole other world with people Barry cares about to use as leverage to force Barry to give up his speed.”

Iris relayed the message to Kara and Alex.

“Look, we’ve stopped alien invasions. I think we can handle one serial killer speedster,” Alex said.

“Without casualties?” Iris asked. “Because Zoom terrified metahumans on his earth. Until everyone with powers was either with him, dead or running scared.”

“My cousin and I don’t bow to threats,” Kara said.

“Maybe not,” Iris said. “But you’re just two people.  He will come with an army or he will build one when he gets here; there’s no way you can fight them all. ”

“Barry says he set that world up with tech to contain metas,” Cisco said.

“Did Barry give this world anti-meta technology?” Iris asked.

Kara nodded. “Yeah, the DEO manufactured some of the boot things and the police have meta-proof cells.”

“Okay, great. You’re gonna need them,” Cisco said. “You, Kara, the DEO, anyone who knows Barry. Those are the first places Zoom will come. If you can catch Zoom when he first shows up, get the element of surprise, you might be able to stop him.”

“So you just want us to shoot the crazy speedster who’s faster than Barry?” Iris said. “That’ll be easy.”

“Hey, _I_ shot him,” Cisco said. “You wanna admit to being a worse shot than me?”

“Never,” Iris said, a smile spreading across her face. “All right, we’re on it.”

“Hey, Iris,” Cisco said. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

“Because of you,” Iris said. “Thanks for finding me.”

“Any time,” Cisco said. “Stay safe.”

And as suddenly as it had come the connection faded. Iris felt a rush of loneliness at the link to her world being severed, but she brushed it off. “Cisco says get the boots to anyone who knows Barry. He thinks the better prepared we are for Zoom to show up the more likely it is we can stop him. Arm anyone who knows Barry.”

“Wait, anyone?” Kara asked.

“That’s what he said,” Iris replied. “Why? Oh.”

“Oh, what?” Alex asked.

*

“You actually expect me to use this _thing_?” Cat asked, holding the boot at a distance like she expected it to go off at any second.

Kara resisted the urge to roll her eyes. It wouldn’t have been very Supergirl.  “The man who’s after Iris may target other people that Barry knows. Particularly those close enough to know his secret identity.”

Cat rolled her eyes. “Oh, please, I barely spoke to the boy. I’m hardly a member of his inner circle.” She waved at Supergirl. “Besides, don’t I have you around to protect me?”

“I can’t be your twenty-four-seven security detail, Ms. Grant,” Kara said. “Just keep the gun at your desk, and be on the lookout for -” she turned to Iris –“what does this guy look like?”

“Black costume, basically an evil version of Barry’s, looks and sounds like pure evil. Unless he’s out of costume, in which case, white guy, six-four, blonde hair, blue eyes, model handsome, enjoys posing as a hero.”

“I’m sorry; did you just call a serial killer handsome?” Kara asked.

“Do you want an accurate description or not?” Iris asked. “If he looked like a serial killer, we probably would’ve figured him out before he infiltrated the team, learned all about us, and started dating Caitlin.”

Cat rolled her eyes. “As fascinating as I’m sure our metahuman psychopath and his love life is, I have a business to run. You say this Zoom person is likely to come here.”

“Once he gets through the dimensional barrier, that is,” Kara said.

“Well, I have my weapon. What’s being done to protect the safety of my employees? If this Zoom is as ruthless as you say, I doubt he’s going to care if innocent people get caught in the crossfire.”

“Iris, Kara, James and Winn all have the same weapon as you,” Kara said. “We’ve got government agents standing by in case Zoom does get here. Barry Allen is working with his team back on his earth to try and stop Zoom before he can get through.”

“And how likely is it that they’ll stop him?” Cat asked.

Iris sighed. “I would love to say I’m one hundred percent sure they’ll stop Zoom _before_ he gets here, but considering they’ve been trying for six months, that might be easier said than done.”

*

“They’ve been warned,” Cisco says. “They have the technology. They’re gonna get it to people Zoom’s most likely to target.”

“Was Iris okay?” Wally asked.

Cisco nodded. “She was somewhere, official looking, I guess. Maybe underground? With Supergirl, and someone who kind of looked like Lyla. She definitely had that authoritative G-woman vibe down.”

“The DEO. Earth-3’s version of ARGUS, basically,” Barry said. “She’s in good hands.”

A whoosh of air blew past them. “Good, now I know where to find her when I get there,” Jay said.

“Were you just somewhere eavesdropping this whole time?” Cisco said.

“You guys really need to update your security,” Wally said.

“We get enough of this crap from the Green Arrow; we don’t need it from you to,” Cisco said.

“He’s right, you know. You could really use an upgrade,” Jay said, stepping forward. “It’s gonna be pretty hard to do that without your tech expert.”  Jay shot out a hand, grabbing Cisco by the neck and disappearing in a blur.

“Cisco!” Caitlin screamed.

It wasn’t the same lair. That was Cisco’s first thought as they lurched to a stop. His second thought was how sick he felt. Rides with Barry were much more pleasant. This must be how Diggle felt when he moved at superspeed.

Jay smirked at Cisco from the other side of the glass. “What? You didn’t see that coming?” Jay said as Cisco tugged at the shackle. “I thought your powers were advancing.”

“And I thought you were smart enough to not use the same plan more than once,” Cisco said. “You think Barry’s going to keep falling for the whole ‘I’ve kidnapped someone you’re close to’ plan? He’ll just find another way to stop you.”

Jay laughed. “This isn’t about Barry. This is about you.”

“What about me?”

“You’re gonna help me tear open a breach to Earth-3.”


	8. Portals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It wouldn't be The Flash if superheroes didn't occasionally make terrible decisions.

Cisco shook his head. “Nuh-uh. That ain’t happening. I don’t help murderers.”  And okay, fine, maybe he offered to help one, once, but that was more than a year and an alternate timeline ago and his life was at stake. It doesn’t count, okay?

Jay – no, Hunter, damn it – chuckled. “I like you, Cisco.”

“Great, just what I’ve always wanted. The approval of a serial killer.”

“I’m really not going to enjoy crushing your heart in the palm of my hand.” The smile fell from Hunter’s face. “But I will. If I don’t get what I want.”

 _Shit_ , Cisco thought, his mind slipping into panic mode at the memories of Reverse Flash killing him and Zoom killing Reverb. Cisco took a deep breath. “I thought you said you could get to that earth by yourself.”

“Well I can. Eventually. But I don’t know this earth. I could end up cycling through who knows how many earths trying to find the right one. But you? You know exactly which one Barry went to. And you have the power to open up a breach to it.”

Cisco shook his head again. “I’ve never done that before.”

“Reverb could do it. Which means you can do it. And you’re going to.”

“No. I’m not gonna help you take over a world. I’m not gonna help you kill people.”

“Yes, you will,” Hunter said certainly. “Because that’s the wonderful thing about heroes. They’re so easily controlled. They have so many people they care about. Hell, they’ll sacrifice their lives for strangers. But the easiest way to manipulate a hero is threaten someone they love.”

A chill passed over Cisco. “No.”

“It really is. Just ask Harrison Wells. He was ready to take down The Flash just to save his daughter. And as much as I’m sure you care about Iris and this other earth, you have closer people here to worry about. How’s Dante doing? Has he recovered from that thing with Captain Cold last year?”

“He has nothing to do with this,” Cisco hissed.

“You’re right; he doesn’t. I’m sorry. How about Caitlin? She has everything to do with this.”

“Hunter, don’t – “

Hunter held up his like he was trying to soothe Cisco. “Don’t worry. I’m not gonna kill her. Huh. Killer. Killer Frost. You know, I worked with her for quite some time. Learned a lot about her physiology. I’m sure I could recreate the conditions for your Caitlin. Earth-2’s Caitlin turned out just fine. Well, aside from the hypothermia and killing anyone she touches. But our Caitlin’s a real trouper. She can handle whatever you throw at her.”

The image of Caitlin taking on her doppelganger’s power, her persona. Her coldness – literally and figuratively. _Cisco, I don't think any of us would become evil if we all of sudden got powers._

“What, you’d just turn your ex-girlfriend into a metahuman against her will?” Why is he even asking this? So far there is a hundred percent chance of evil speedsters turning people into metas without asking permission first. Why would _Zoom_ of all people suddenly break that streak?

“She’d make a wonderful villain,” Hunter said.

“Leave her alone,” Cisco said.

Zoom phased through the glass wall. “I will. As soon as I get passage to this new earth. You know what it’s like. You know its frequency. Now all you’ve got to do focus your powers on that earth’s frequency and you can open a breach.” Zoom tossed Cisco his goggles. “These should help.”

Cisco caught the goggles, rattling the chain on his wrist as he moved. “I do this, you leave Caitlin alone? You leave my family alone?”

Zoom held up three fingers. “Scout’s honor.”

Cisco stared at him for a long moment, resisting the urge to ask just how _that_ gesture managed to be one of the constants of the multiverse, before pulling on the goggles. He reached out his hand, focusing on the energy of the world he’d crossed into earlier, but tried deliberately to not focus on Iris. If he could get Zoom to another location on Earth-3 he would buy some time to get a message to them or send reinforcements.

A blue mist seemed to flow from Cisco’s hand into the surrounding air. It lengthened and widened into a large cloudy circle. Smaller than the breaches the wormhole had caused, but similar. Similar enough to make Cisco think it could actually work. Which should have been exciting, but instead it just terrified him.

A smile broke out across Hunter’s face. “Not bad for a first try. Of course if this breach takes me to Gorilla City instead, I’m coming back here and ripping out your heart.” Zoom tugged the grotesque mask over his face and leapt through the portal.

Cisco dropped his hand, letting the portal close. “And I’m still chained up in a supervillain lair. Great.”


	9. Call in the Reinforcements

Team Flash stared at the spot where Cisco and Zoom had left, trying to process what had happened.

“Anybody going to say anything about Zoom taking off with your sidekick?” Wally asked.

“He’s not my sidekick,” Barry said automatically.

“What does he need Cisco for?” Caitlin asked. “He didn’t make a threat. This isn’t just another hostage situation. He _needs_ Cisco. Why?”

“His powers,” Dr. Wells said. “Reverb worked for Zoom on Earth-2. There must be something he could do that he needs our Cisco for.”

A strange feeling came over Barry he turned behind him and saw Cisco standing in a blue mist. “Uh, guys? Am I the only one seeing this?”

“Seeing what?” Wally asked.

“Okay. That’s a yes,” Barry said.

“Zoom’s on Earth-3,” Cisco said.

“You’ve been gone three minutes,” Barry said. “How is Zoom on Earth-3?”

“Zoom’s on Earth-3?” Wally exclaimed. “I thought you said Iris was safe there!”

Cisco’s gaze drifted guiltily to the floor. “I opened a breach for him. He threatened Dante and Caitlin, man, I’m sorry.”

Barry sighed. “I’d have done the same thing.”

“Not sure that makes it the right choice,” Cisco replied. “It just proves Zoom knows what he’s doing.”

“So what do we do now?”

“I open a breach, you come get me out of this creepy-ass lair, and we go to Earth-3 and find Iris and Kara before Zoom does.”

Cisco disappeared, an empty breach appearing in his place.

“What the hell is happening?” Wally asked. “What is that thing?”

“A portal between worlds,” Dr. Wells said. “Ramon’s figured out how to open them.”

“I’m gonna get Cisco, we’re gonna get Iris, and we’re gonna end this with Zoom,” Barry said. “Once and for all.” Barry ran through the breach to Earth-2, appearing at Cisco’s side.

Cisco laughed as he dropped his arm, allowing the breach to close. “You have no idea how happy I am to see you, dude.” He rattled the chain. “Now get me out of here.”

“You know if you’d figure out how to do that blasting move, you could get out of this yourself and save us all some time,” Barry said, vibrating through the lock on the cuff.

“Okay, hot shot, it’s not like you’ve reached the full potential of your powers, either,” Cisco shot back.  He rubbed at the spot where the cuff had been (“dude, it was five minutes”) before flicking his wrist and opening another portal.

Barry reached for Cisco’s shoulder. “You sure you wanna do this?”

“Stop the evil speedster who keeps threatening people I care about and meet a flying alien? Yeah, I think I’m down,” Cisco said.

Barry gripped Cisco’s shoulder tighter and took off through the breach, watching the swirl of images that he ran by – a tall man pulling off his glasses and tugging at the tie around his neck, a blond man in a green leather hoodie and sunglasses, a woman in a long black coat jumping off a building – _no, don’t get distracted, focus, Iris._ Barry pushed past it and soon he was running into the middle of downtown National City, in the spot where he’d first saved Kara. He skidded to a stop in front of CatCo Worldwide Media. “Please tell me this isn’t where you dropped off Zoom,” he said to Cisco.

“No, I sent him to Central City, but it’s only a matter of time until he Googles ‘The Flash’ and finds out you were spotted in National City on your last visit,” Cisco said.

“Saving Kara Danvers and Cat Grant.” Barry sighed.

“Yeah, you should really consider keeping a lower profile, dude,” Cisco said.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Barry said. “Go inside, find Iris and Kara. I’m gonna find Zoom.”

“What are you going to do when you find him?”

“Slow him down until Kara and the DEO can bring in the backup.” He looked at Cisco seriously. “Get Iris somewhere safe, get Kara’s help and stay hidden.” Barry took off in a familiar streak of gold lightning.

*

After leaving Cat in her office with the boot, Kara and Iris returned to their base of operations inside CatCo where James and Winn were waiting, Winn typing furiously at his keyboard.

“Cat’s all set,” Kara said. “Assuming she can manage to work that thing.”

“All she has to do is aim and pull the trigger. She’ll be fine.” Iris leaned over Winn’s shoulder to stare at the computer. “What exactly is it you’re doing?”

“I have an algorithm in place to scan news sites and social media for reports of alien or metahuman activity. It lets us know if there’s any superhuman shenanigans going on that Supergirl needs to take care of,” Winn said. “Normally I keep it focused on the area surrounding National City, but I reset the parameters, so it’ll look worldwide _but_ focus only on activity related to superhuman speed.”

The screen lit up with activity. “That’s not good,” James said. “Where is it?”

The color drained from Winn’s face. “Right outside.”

The four ran to the window to look out.  “I don’t see anything,” Kara said.

“Well, if we’re dealing with a speedster, they could have moved on already,” Winn said.

The door to the office burst open. Kara jumped at the sound, launching herself in between her friends and the door. “Who are you?”

“Whoa,” Cisco said, raising his hands in surrender. “Chill out, E.T., she knows me. Iris, could you tell her that you know me?”

“This is Cisco,” Iris said, pushing her way past Supergirl. “What are you doing here?”

“Cisco? The costume designer with the visions?” Kara asked. “Oh, come on, why don’t you bug him about using glasses as a disguise?”

“Because they’re functional and I work behind the scenes,” Cisco said. “Zoom’s here. Well, not here here. I sent him to Central City instead.”

“ _You_ sent him to Central City?” James asked.

“Long story,” Cisco said. “The point is, he’s on this earth now and Barry just went after him.”

“Barry’s going after Zoom alone?” Iris exclaimed.

“He wasn’t planning to stay that way,” Cisco said. He nodded at Kara. “He wanted you and the DEO to back him up.”

Kara nodded. “On it.” She tapped at her earpiece. “Zoom is in Central City. Flash is en route and needs additional backup.” She turned back to Iris. “Barry will be fine. We’ll bring down Zoom.” And with that, she dove out through the window and took to the sky.

“Zoom knows about the DEO. He knows about Supergirl. It’s only a matter of time before Zoom finds out about Kara and Cat. We need to book it. Now.” Cisco reached for Iris’s hand and she pulled away.

“No, I’m not running from Zoom again. We end this. We stop him. Together.”

“Friendly reminder that neither of us have advanced healing and death by vibrating hands _hurts_ ,” Cisco said.

“Also, your ride just dove out the window,” Winn pointed out.

“Well, I’m not just going to go into hiding again. I think we’ve established that doesn’t work,” Iris said.

“Barry told me to get you somewhere safe,” Cisco said.

“Barry’s said a lot of things that I’ve ignored,” Iris said. “You really think you’re going to be more convincing?”

Cisco sighed. “Okay, no, but what exactly are you going to do to stop Zoom?”

“We set a trap. If the DEO has cells that can contain Kara, they can probably hold Zoom. We lure him in, let him think we've got something that will hurt Barry or give him the speed he needs. As long as he thinks he’s the one winning, he’ll fall for it,” Iris said.

“Maybe you’re right, but we need help to set it up and to keep Zoom from actually hurting anyone and like he said, the superheroes just took off,” Cisco said.

James sighed, glancing down at his watch. “Actually…I might know a guy.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My handling of the timeline is only slightly better than Barry Allen's.


	10. The Big Guy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long delay! Back on track now and hoping to have this one completed before the season premieres.

Iris’s eyes brightened. “You’re going to call him? Superhero Pulitzer-winning guy?”

James stared at her in exasperation. “All right I get that you’re from another Earth and everything, but it is still weird to hear somebody who’s never heard of him.”

“Never heard of who?” Cisco asked.

“Superman,” Winn said. “Supergirl’s cousin.”

Cisco’s mouth dropped open. “You – you mean there’s more than one of them?”

“Been there,” Winn said, noting his reaction.  He glanced back at James. “Call him. We could use the big guy.”

James studied Winn for a moment. “You just want to meet him yourself,” he said, to which Winn could only shrug.  James shook his head and dialed. “Hey, Clark. We’ve got a bit of a situation here that could use your assistance.” James listened for a moment before responding. “No, it’s not a DEO operation. Not exactly. Actually – what do you know about parallel universes?” A few seconds later, James pulled the phone away from his ear. “Apparently I’ve piqued his curiosity. He’s on his way.”

The group stared expectantly out the window, searching for the tell-tale blue and red blur of a Kryptonian superhero. They were still watching a moment later when an unassuming man wearing glasses and carrying a leather messenger bag walked in the door behind them unnoticed. He stayed just inside the doorway, crossing his arms and wondering how long it would take for his friend and these three strangers his cousin had deemed trustworthy to sense his presence. “You know the window entrance is almost always more conspicuous than using the door.”

The three strangers jumped at the sound of Clark’s voice, while James broke into a wide grin. “It’s been too long, man,” he said, crossing the room in three long strides and embracing the newcomer warmly.

“It’s hard to get the gang back together when they’re superheroing in different cities,” Clark said.

“That sounds familiar,” Cisco muttered. And Iris had to agree, considering she hadn’t even seen Team Arrow the last time they were in town.

Clark pulled back, eying Cisco and Iris carefully. “So you know? About Kara and me?”

“You’re not the first flying people we’ve met,” Cisco said. “First aliens, though.”

“Our best friend’s The Flash,” Iris added for good measure.

Clark nodded. “He saved Kara a few weeks ago. Helped her take down Livewire and Silver Banshee.”

“Those are some dope names,” Cisco said.

Iris rolled her eyes. “Sorry, that’s kind of what he does.” She stepped closer to Clark, offering her hand. “Iris West. _Central City Picture News_. And _The Tribune_ , at least for the time being.”

Clark smiled. “Clark Kent, _Daily Planet_.”

Winn looked less than impressed. “This – this is him? The Man of Steel?”

Clark turned his gaze on Winn, and suddenly his crystal blue eyes had taken on a steely determination that would have earned him the nickname even if he had no powers.

Winn’s eyes widened just slightly with fear. “You know you look a lot more like your cousin when you do that.”

A smile stretched out over Clark’s face again once he had proven his point. Winn let out a sigh of relief as he realized the superhero was only messing him.

“So I’ve been told,” Clark said, glancing at James out of the corner of his eye. “So what’s the crisis? I know Kara wouldn’t ask for my help unless it was an emergency.” Clark looked again at the group surrounding him. “Unless she doesn’t know.”

“She doesn’t,” Iris said. “She went to help Barry fight Zoom.”

“Zoom?”

“Bad guy,” Cisco explained. “Serial killer with superspeed from another world. But not ours,” he added, gesturing between himself and Iris. “Another other world. Wants out friend Barry’s speed. Threatened Iris here to get it. Barry hid her on your earth because he thought Zoom wouldn’t find her. He was wrong – and I cannot say how sorry I am about that, Iris – and now he and Kara and who knows how many DEO agents are trying to capture Zoom. Only last time he and Zoom fought, Barry ended up imprisoned in a meta-proof cell, and the time before that he got paralyzed. So his track record isn’t really doing him any favors this time.” Cisco took a deep breath. “Zoom also has this thing about conquering earths. I think it’s safe to say he’s gunning for yours now.”

“I see why you called me,” Clark said to James.

James lifted his hands. “If you can’t call your best friend when the world’s ending, who can you call?”

“It’s not ending yet,” Cisco said. “That I would definitely see coming.”

“Psychic,” Winn explained, jerking his thumb towards Cisco.

“Useful,” Clark said. “So what’s the plan?”

The group glanced at each other for the answer. “We want to lure Zoom into a trap,” Iris said. “Let him think he’s running the show and get him into one of the meta-proof cells at the DEO. The question is, how?”

“You say he wants more speed?” Clark asked. “Why?”

“Because he’s power-hungry and dying,” Cisco said. “Along with the general insanity.”

Clark nodded, thinking to himself. “Hmm. That might work,” he muttered.

“What might work?” James asked.

“Kryptonians are invulnerable to almost everything on earth,” Clark explained. “I’ve faced more than a few misguided individuals who wanted to exploit my powers to achieve immortality. If we can convince Zoom that the DEO has found a way to tap into that strength, convince him that it’s more powerful than whatever powers Barry has to offer, he will go straight for that power without a second’s hesitation.”

“It sounds doable,” Iris said. “How do we make Zoom believe that?”

“Kara and Barry are on their way to Zoom,” Cisco said. “Get them in on the plan and have them ‘accidentally’ let it slip to Zoom that the DEO is storing those capabilities, but unprepared for someone with Zoom’s speed. Make him think it’s a power buffet.”

“Great,” Clark said. “Now, I just need to get a message to Kara.”

Cisco’s face lit up. “What, you guys can communicate? Like telepathically?” he asked.

“No,” Clark said, looking at Cisco strangely. “I have her phone number.”

*

For someone who had once claimed to be the fastest man alive, Barry was surprisingly easy to catch up with. He was only a few hundred miles outside of the city when Kara spotted him. It didn’t hurt that Kara had a straighter flight path than Barry had on the ground, and he wasn’t exactly looking up for someone tailing him. Kara swooped down, catching the speedster by the arm and pulling him to a sudden stop.

“Ow!” Barry shouted, trying and failing to pull his arm from the heroine’s grasp.

“Sorry!” Kara exclaimed, releasing her grip instantly and wincing at the unintentional pain she had inflicted. “I’m not used to people as fast as me being so fragile.”

“It’s fine, I – fragile?” Barry asked, offended, cocking his head to the side.

“Sorry,” she said again. “I called DEO for backup, but I’m not sure how many available agents they’ll have in Central City. It hasn’t exactly been a hotbed of extra-normal activity.”

“The utmost proof of the differences in our worlds,” Barry said.

Kara’s phone buzzed. She reached for her pocket and checked the screen to see Clark’s name on the called ID. “It’s Superman.” She answered the call. “Clark?”

“Hey, Kara. I’m in National City. We have a plan to stop Zoom, but you need to lure him back here to the DEO.”


	11. Every Hero's Weakness

“My cousin wants us to bring Zoom back to National City,” Kara said, looking at Barry in bewilderment.

“What? Is he insane? The whole point is to keep him _away_ from the people we care about,” Barry replied.

“Flash thinks you’re crazy,” Kara said. Barry shook his head and made a slicing motion across his neck.

“You know I can hear him, right?” Clark asked.

“Right. Sorry, it’s been a long day,” Kara said. She pulled the phone away from her ear and switched it over to speaker mode. “What are you thinking?”

Clark repeated the plan he had formulated with the rest of their respective teams. When he was finished, Kara looked to Barry for a response.

“It – it might work,” Barry said uncertainly.

“We don’t have anything better,” Kara reminded him gently. “If we don’t try this, we’re back to hand-to-hand combat, and if he’s as fast as you say he is…”

“I know, I know.” Barry sighed. “It’s not perfect, but it’s better than trying to take him down alone.”

Winn’s voice came on the line. “Well, if you’re going to do it, you’d better get to Zoom now. I’ve got reports of a speedster taking hostages at the Central City Police Department.”

“That definitely sounds like Zoom,” Barry said. “Okay, we’re on it. Just have the DEO on alert and ready to contain a speedster. Everything has to look normal. If he’s on to you, people _will_ die.”

“No one else is going to die,” Clark said. “We won’t let that happen. You just do your part.” Clark hung up without another word.

Kara pocketed her phone. “All right, so we get to CCPD. If we want Zoom to head for National City we have to act like it’s the last thing we want him to do.”

“If we go in and sneak out hostages – “

“Let Zoom ‘catch’ us trying to sneak past him, while talking – “

“About a power source at the DEO – “

“And he’ll walk right in,” Kara said. “With Clark and J’onn and a hundred armed DEO agents waiting for him.”

“All right,” Barry said. “Let’s get him.”

They raced the rest of the way to Central City. The police station was in the same location as on Barry’s earth, but Barry had to admit a sense of relief at not recognizing any of the people in the precinct. A few dozen officers were huddled on the floor while Zoom paced along the upper floor. Barry sneaked through the back, rushing the holding cells first, grabbing the prisoners and moving them to the jail in the next closest precinct. He returned to the station, stopping outside the building to talk to Kara. “I got the prisoners secured, but how are we going to get the officers without Zoom seeing us?”

Kara looked out the corner of her eye with her x-ray vision, looking through the building to see if Zoom was close enough to listen in on their conversation. He had moved closer to the inside wall. She hoped the walls were thin enough for him to pick this up. It was so hard to judge the limits of a human's senses. “I don’t know,” Kara said. “DEO agents are trained to deal with aliens. We don’t have speedsters here, Barry. Alien superspeed is different. It doesn’t involve the – what did you call it?”

“Speed force.”

“Right. Different power source; different rules. I know how my speed and healing work. I know my enemies. I don’t know Zoom. If he’s already a speedster, why does he want your speed?”

“He’s dying,” Barry said. “He used a drug called Velocity 9 to increase his speed, which it did, but it backfired, and his cells are degenerating. My extra speed and accelerated healing will fix that.”

“Do you even have a way to transfer them to him? I know how people have gotten my powers, but yours? We don’t exactly have a plethora of exploding particle accelerators here.”

“Dr. Wells had a way. I don’t fully understand it, and I don’t know how to replicate it on this earth.”

“That’s’ a good sign,” Kara said. “It means he can’t steal them yet. And it’s still two against one.”

“We need to split up,” Barry said. “He can’t be in two places at once. If one of us fights him and one of us gets the rest of the hostages, we might stand a chance.”

“I have a better chance against him in hand to hand,” Kara said. “I have powers he’s not used to.”

“Kara, I don’t think –“

“No, Barry. Iris told me what happened to you when you fought him. I’m practically indestructible, and I think we’ve established that you are _very_ destructible.”

Barry rolled his eyes.

“And you’re faster than me. You can get the hostages out quicker, minimize casualties, take away his leverage.”

Barry sighed and gestured towards the building. “All right, Girl of Steel, go for it.”

Kara nodded once, hoping Zoom had heard enough to tempt him into exploring how to steal her powers and head for the DEO. She flew away, entering through the window where Barry’s lab should have been, and landed in a crouch in front of Zoom. She straightened to her full height, crossing her arms as she locked eyes with Zoom, who seemed to be studying her carefully. “Zoom. I hear you’ve been after some friends of mine.”

“Flash has something I want,” Zoom replied in his monstrous voice. “It is unwise of you to partner with my enemies.”

“Funny. I was just going to tell you it was unwise to make an enemy of me.” She focused her hearing on Barry, trying to tell if he had gotten everyone out yet, but she could still hear him zipping through the lower level, clearing people out a few at a time.

Zoom closed the distance between the two of them, not bothering to use his speed. “You think you’re invincible. You think you’re stronger than I am. I have conquered worlds. Because every hero has the same weakness.”

“Really? And what’s that?”

Zoom’s sneer radiated even through his mask as he raised his hand, sending vibrations through the surrounding air. He plunged his hand forward into Kara’s chest, just as Barry returned from freeing the hostages, skidding to a stop on the upper floor.

“No!” Barry screamed as Kara gasped.

“ _Their hearts, Kara_.”


	12. The Final Battle

Barry stared in shock at the scene in front of him, waiting for the moment Kara would drop to the ground. No. He hadn’t meant for this to happen. He hadn’t meant to bring danger to her world. He didn’t want to trade Kara’s life for Iris’s.

Barry was so caught up in his spiral of guilt that it took him a moment to fully see what was happening. Kara wasn’t being held up by Zoom. She still stood on her own two feet, eyes widened in shock and confusion, but alive and seemingly unharmed. How was that possible?

Kara looked back and forth between the hand in her chest and the monster in front of her, who seemed as confused as she felt. There was no pain, just discomfort and the sense that something was _very_ wrong. She tried to pull back, but she couldn’t, not without bringing Zoom with her.

“Barry, what is going on?!”

Barry ran to her side, trying not to feel too awkward as he stared at Kara’s chest. “I don’t know. Usually this is the part where someone’s heart gets crushed, but I don’t think he can.”

“You _are_ a strong one,” Zoom said, sounding pleased despite the stalemate they were locked in.

Kara’s chest tightened, from fear or Zoom trying something new she didn’t know, and she felt a deep desire to punch a hole in Zoom’s head. She would have, except his arms were longer than hers and he remained out of reach. She tried swatting his hand away, but her hand passed through the vibrating molecules of his arm. Desperate, she took a deep breath and blew it back at Zoom’s face, ice crystallizing along his mask. Zoom turned his head to avoid the blast, but soon the cold began to affect him and he released his grip on Kara. She stumbled backward, clutching her chest in relief. Barry reached out an arm to steady her.

 “Your abilities are very impressive,” Zoom said. “Maybe even better than the speed force. I can’t wait to find out for myself.” Blue lightning streaked across the room, and Zoom was gone.

Barry focused his attention on Kara. “Are you okay?”

Kara nodded. “I think so.” She placed her hand to her chest. “My heart’s still beating. That seems like a good sign.”

“Can you still fly? Or run? Because I’m pretty sure Zoom’s on his way to the DEO to kill everyone and copy your powers,” Barry said.

Kara tested her flight, hovering over the rail. “Everything seems normal.”

“Says the flying alien.”

“The flying alien you came running to for help when you needed it,” Kara shot back. “Come on, they’re going to need back up.” She and Barry took off for National City. She clicked onto her headset. “Alex, Zoom is on his way to the DEO.”

“Clark and the rest of your superfriends just got here,” Alex replied. “Cisco’s checking that the cells are secure.”

“Remember, he can’t know you’re expecting him. He has to think he has the upper hand,” Kara said.

“We’ve got it, Kara,” Alex said. “We’ll be ready for him.” She ended the call and turned back to J’onn. “We are ready for him, right?”

“Ramon says the cells are secure for holding a speedster. And since he’s the one who designed the cells on his earth, I’m inclined to believe him,” J’onn said.

Clark zipped through the facility one last time. “It’s an impressive setup you’ve got here,” he said, crossing his arms. “Although the Kryptonite room is deeply disturbing.”

“It’s for Kara’s _training_ ,” Alex said.

“Well, whatever it’s for, I’m steering clear of it,” Clark replied.

“That’s probably a good idea,” Cisco said. He was wearing his goggles. “We’ve got about two minutes until Zoom finds this place, and we do not need our best fighter powerless.”

“What exactly is Zoom’s fighting style?” Clark asked.

“Shove his hand through your chest, snap your spine, throw a lightning bolt at you,” Cisco said. “Maybe a little public humiliation.”

“None of those will work on me. Unless he has superstrength?” Clark asked.

“Not technically,” Cisco said. “But force equals mass times acceleration, and dude can accelerate.”

“So can I,” Clark said, a hint of a smile on his lips. “But I have superstrength at human speed.”

Cisco held up his hand. “Okay, just don’t get too cocky. You wouldn’t be the first man of steel I’ve seen a speedster lay out with one punch.”

“I think I can keep a level head.”

“Agents, get in position,” J’onn said. “Civilians, get in hiding. If he sees The Flash’s sidekicks, he’s going to get suspicious and we’ll lose our chance.”

The team moved into position.

“Zoom’s twenty seconds out!” Alex called out. Throughout headquarters, people tensed, gripping their weapons tighter.

Alarm bells went off as blue lightning filled the room. The black-clad speedster stood in the center of the room. J’onn, Alex and about a dozen other DEO agents drew their weapons on Zoom.

“Freeze!” J’onn shouted. “Hands where I can see them!”

“You really think you can stop me?” Zoom asked. “The only reason you’re all still alive is because you have something I want.”

“And what is it that you want?” Alex asked.

“Power,” Zoom snarled.

“The DEO isn’t in the habit of empowering people from other worlds,” J’onn said.

“If you value your world, you’ll give me what I ask. Supergirl’s powers, in exchange for mercy on this world,” Zoom said.

“We have no way to give you her powers,” Alex said.

Zoom rushed over to the computer desk, shoving Agent Vasquez out of the way, hacking into one of the DEO’s classified files. He turned the computer screen towards Alex and J’onn. “It seems you’ve managed to pass her powers onto at least one other person.” In a flash of light, Zoom was gone, just as Kara and Barry arrived on the scene.

“He’s heading for Bizarro!” Alex yelled.

Kara flew to the comatose woman’s room, with Barry following after her.

Zoom hovered over the woman, her medical file in hand. He had tugged his mask down and leaned against her hospital bed casually. “It seems altering DNA is almost as easy to do on your world as it is on mine. Or his,” he added, nodding to Barry. “It does seem it would halt the cellular degeneration. As long as I avoid this Kryptonite thing.” He laughed. “Those do look like some nasty side effects.”

“Stay away from her!” Kara said protectively.

Zoom opened his mouth to speak again, but was knocked off his feet by a red and blue blur flying in through the wall, slamming him into the opposite wall.

“Sorry, it was getting a little long-winded for me,” Clark said, pinning his arm against Zoom’s neck.

“You’re outnumbered and out of your league, Hunter!” Barry said.

Once again, Hunter laughed. “There’s two of you? I really should have done more research on this world.”

“Yeah, you should have,” Clark agreed.

“But you should have done your research on me,” Zoom said. His molecules began vibrating and he slipped out of Clark’s grasp and through the wall.

“Your friend forgot to mention that trick,” Clark said, barreling through the wall after Zoom, with Barry and Kara hot on his heels.

They didn’t have to go far before a green figure flew seemingly out of nowhere, grabbing Zoom and flying straight up, tearing a hole all the way to the surface of their underground compound and into the air high above.

“Another one?!” Barry exclaimed.

“You gotta stop being shocked by this, Barry,” Kara said.

“Get the boot!” J’onn yelled, letting go of Zoom and letting gravity do its job.

Clark and Kara took off, grabbing the weapons from the DEO agents and flying back through the hole in the roof.

Zoom was caught in a freefall. Kara and Clark flew closer, firing the weapons one at each leg, and J’onn caught the criminal, flying him back into the DEO and into a holding cell. Kara, Clark and Barry followed after, arriving just as J’onn closed the clear cell door and shifted back into the form of Hank Henshaw.

“The prisoner is secure,” he said.

Zoom said nothing as he glared at the assorted heroes in front of him.

A smile spread over Kara’s face. She clicked onto her headset. “Alex, it’s over. We got him.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, come on, did you actually think I was going to kill Supergirl? 
> 
> Any complaints of implausibility will be directed towards canon, in which the matter was solved with time wraiths, time remnants and a foot race.


	13. The Last Hurrah

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The fluffy end is here.

Iris and Cisco rushed down to the cell, with James and Winn close behind. “Barry!”

“Iris!”

She ran into his arms and he hugged her tightly, lifting her off the ground just a little.

“We did it,” he whispered in her ear. “We stopped him.” He set Iris back on her feet. He pulled back, releasing Iris from his embrace, but she grasped Barry’s hand, refusing to let go of him completely. Barry stared at their clasped hands, smiling for a moment before coming back to his senses. “Well, mostly they stopped him.” He turned towards Clark, Kara and J’onn. “I can’t thank you enough for your help.”

“What are friends for?” Kara replied.

“Is everyone okay?” James asked. A murmur of agreement went up from the heroes.

Cisco started tapping the glass like an annoying patron at the aquarium. “How’s it feel on the other side of the glass?”

Zoom punched at the glass wall. Cisco jumped back, but the smile on his face grew even wider.

“Don’t taunt the villain, Cisco,” Iris said.

“Why not? He can’t hurt me.”

“No, it’s just tacky,” Barry and Winn said together. They high fived at the shared reference.

Clark gestured towards the cell. “So are we just going to leave him here?”

“I’ll tell you right now, I am not opening a breach back to our earth if he’s going through it with us,” Cisco said.

“If it helps, he was convicted of twenty-three murders on his earth _before_ he got powers, so he wasn’t exactly deprived of due process,” Barry said. “We’re just missing a few hundred charges.”

J’onn shrugged. “That works for me. As long as I don’t have to deal with any nosy lawyers hunting down my organization. If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go get a construction crew on those holes. No point in having a top-secret paramilitary base if it can’t even stand up to rain.” He walked away, talking to someone on his headset.

“So is that it? Villain in custody, and we just head home?” Barry asked.

“No!” Kara and Winn said together, puppy dog eyes in full effect.

“They’re right, dude,” Cisco said. “We stopped Zoom. We just saved like three earths. That has to be some kind of record. We have to celebrate.”

“Okay, fine,” Barry agreed. “But you’re gonna have to be the one to tell Caitlin and Joe where we are, because you know they’re going to panic if we don’t get home soon.”

“What? No! They’re going to be mad. Why do I have to do it?” Cisco asked.

“Because you’re the only one who can communicate between worlds?” Barry said.

“Oh, right. _That_.” Cisco sighed. “Okay, but the next power advancement I get better be that blasting move, because I am getting cheated out of the kickass power department.”

“Duly noted,” Barry said.

“Before we go out, though, there’s one quick stop I have to make,” Iris said.

“What’s that?” Barry asked.

“I need to quit my reporting job at Catco,” Iris said.

Barry’s eyes widened. “You got a job already? How? You’ve been here two days.”

“Yeah, well how was I supposed to know that? You’ve been battling Zoom for six months. I could have been stuck here for a long time with no money and no wardrobe.” Iris smiled. “And besides, I think Cat Grant would really like to see you again.”

*

If the media mogul was fazed by a metahuman running into her office carrying her newest reporter, she didn’t show it. Cat slid her glasses down her nose, studying Barry closely as Iris hopped down from his arms. “I wondered if there was any credence to that report that Supergirl and The Flash were doing battle with an unknown speedster in Central City.” She leaned down from her chair, lifting the weapon Supergirl had given her onto the desk. “I suppose that means I won’t be needing this anymore.”

“I wouldn’t get rid of it if I were you,” Barry said. “Unless you think you’ll never be threatened by supervillains in this office again.”

“Touché,” Cat said. She set the weapon back on the ground and rose to her feet, approaching Barry. “And we’re past the point of masks, Mr. Allen. I’m sure Keira’s told you as much.”

Barry gestured to the glass behind them. “Wall made of windows,” he said. “I don’t think it’s a good idea to unmask in the headquarters of one of the most respected media companies in the world.”

Cat rolled her eyes. “Like one of my employees would be able to get your identity published without me destroying every shred of credibility they had. But have it your way.” Cat turned to Iris. “I assume I shouldn’t find you a permanent job reporting at _The Tribune_?”

“Afraid not,” Iris said. “I do have a job waiting for me back home. And my own hero to report on.” She and Barry shared a brief smile, before being interrupted by a groan from Cat.

“Oh, God, it’s like a sickeningly sweet, young version of Lois Lane and Superman,” Cat said.

“Who’s Lois Lane?” Iris asked.

Cat smirked. “Oh, as refreshing as it is to hear somebody say that, it only reminds me that you do not belong here.” She shooed them away. “Go on, back to your peaceful little world. Oh, wait.” Cat held up one finger and walked over to the desk picking a piece of paper up off of it. “A souvenir. To commemorate your time here.”

Iris looked down at the paper. It was front page of the print edition of the newspaper, featuring her story on Supergirl’s fight that morning against the mysterious lava woman, along with a photo by James Olsen.

Barry read over her shoulder. “Irene Josephson. So, I guess you didn’t like any of my ideas for aliases?”

“Guess not,” Iris murmured. She looked back up at Cat. “Thank you. For everything.”

“All I did was give you a chance to prove yourself,” Cat said. “Which you did. You’re the best reporter I’ve ever hired who’s quit after one day. And that’s no short list. And you,” she said, turning to Barry. “Despite your terrible choice of superhero name and near inability to keep your identity a secret, you have the makings of a true hero.”

“Is this your way of trying to get an interview?”

Cat smiled. “No, this is my way of thanking you. For saving my life. And Kara’s. I know we were both happy to help Irene here.”

Barry’s eyes narrowed in confusion. “Ir-“

Iris put a hand to his chest. “We really should be going. People waiting for us.”

“Of course. I’m sure you know where the balcony is, Mr. Allen.”

Barry gave one last smile to Cat before picking Iris back up and running to the balcony and down the side of the building.

*

Iris was relieved to see that Kara had better club tastes than Barry, even though the karaoke machine made her more than a little wary. She had the distinct impression she was going to get pulled onto that stage whether she wanted to or not.

The rest of their strange little clique was for them when they arrived at the club. Kara jumped up when she saw them come in. “Hey,” she said, hugging them both in turn. “Thanks for coming. I know you must be eager to get home. So thanks for staying to celebrate.”

“There’s no telling when we’ll see each other again, right?” Iris asked. “So no time like the present. Which reminds me, I have a Pulitzer-winning superhero to go talk to, so I will see you guys later.”

“You know you can’t publish anything you learn, right?” Kara asked.

“I can’t publish ninety percent of my life,” Iris said. “Doesn’t mean I don’t want the answers.” She walked down to the other end of the bar where the guys were talking, tapping Clark on the shoulder as she sat down next to him.

Kara and Barry watched Iris as she laughed with James and Clark. “You’ve got a real keeper there, Barry,” Kara said. “I asked Iris if you two were dating. She said no, but I’m beginning to have some doubts.”

“It’s…complicated.”

“Compared to what? Have you seen our lives?”

Barry laughed. “All right, that’s fair. Iris and I aren’t together. Except we should be, according to the future and Zoom’s earth. And I love her and she knows how I feel. But we have a long history, and it’s just…”

“Complicated,” Kara supplied.

“Right.”

“For what it’s worth? The look on her face when she talked about you? That’s not the look of someone talking about just a friend. Besides, weren’t you the one who told me to speed things up with James?”

“How’s that going, by the way?” Barry asked.

“I kissed him, and then…”

“Things got complicated?”

“Alien invasion complicated,” Kara replied. She became thoughtful. “If the universe is sending you signs that you’re supposed to be together, I say go for it. Take it from someone who once lost everyone, you have got to hold on to the people who really matter in life.”

“I’m trying to,” Barry said. “And that reminds me, I tried looking you up when I got back to my earth.”

“Really? What’d you find?”

“Nothing. And I thought, ‘Okay, she got adopted by a different family.’ And then I ran facial recognition-“

“You ran facial recognition on me?”

“Hold up,” Barry said, putting up his hand. “Let me tell my story. Anyway, I still got nothing. And then I thought about how weird it is that there’s aliens on this earth, but not mine.”

“As far as you know.”

“And I started thinking that maybe the reason there’s no Kara Danvers there, is that her parents never had a reason to send her. That my universe is one where Krypton never blew up. And Kara Zor-El grew up with her parents, and her baby cousin and lived whatever qualifies as a normal Kryptonian life.” Barry shrugged. “But that’s just one theory.”

“I like that theory,” Kara said. “I like the idea that there’s some place where they’re okay. Even if it’s not in my world. Thanks for that.”

“No problem.”

Iris waltzed back up to the table. “Okay, I have one member of the House of El who agrees to give me an exclusive interview if he ever shows up on our earth. Care to make it two for two?”

“Yes, I promise Irene West has exclusive dibs on my life story,” Kara said.

“Not funny,” Iris said.

“I cannot believe you let Cat get your name wrong,” Barry said, shaking his head.

“You can’t take it personally. She gets everyone’s name wrong,” Kara said. “At least for the first five years. She only just realized that Winn was actually _in_ the office.”

“So she figured out Barry in five minutes but can’t figure out the superhero team working out of her building? Nothing suspicious about that,” Iris said.

“She doesn’t know,” Kara said. “At least I hope she doesn’t know.”

Cisco stumbled over from the table he’d been sitting at with Alex and Winn. “Barry!” Cisco said, a little too loudly for the noise level of the bar. There were shot glasses lined up at his table that explained why. “I need your help."

Barry put on a pained smile that made Kara and Iris laugh as he followed Cisco back to the karaoke machine.

“I’m gonna miss you guys,” Kara said. “It’s always nice to have someone who can keep up with me. And Barry’s great too.”

“Yeah, he is,” Iris said, watching Barry as he shook his head at whatever Cisco said to him.

“So, are you going to tell him that’s what you think? Because I’m pretty sure he’d love to hear it.”

“You sound like my dad.” Iris sighed. “I will," she assured her. "Just not tonight. When there is no crisis and we are both in our own universe.”

A gust of wind blew Iris’s hair in her face, and Barry was sitting beside them. “If Cisco asks, you do not have Flo Rida in this world,” he said urgently.

Iris laughed while Kara tilted her head, perplexed. “Okay? Why?” Kara asked.

“Because he wants me to do background vocals for him on ‘Low,’” Barry said. “There’s not enough alcohol in both worlds to get me up there for that one.”

“So the line is firmly drawn at Travolta?” Iris asked.

The phrase “Scarlet Speedster” became a lot more literal as Barry blushed. “Caitlin told you about that?”

“Linda, actually.”

Suddenly, music filled the room and Barry’s eyes widened with panic as they turned towards the stage.

“Well, it looks like you don’t have to worry about getting pulled onstage anymore,” Kara said.

Cisco and Winn were onstage, mics in hand. Winn had pulled on Cisco’s Vibes goggles and looked the happiest Kara had ever seen him.

“ _Shawty had them apple bottom jeans_ ,” Cisco sang.

“ _Jeans,_ ” Winn sang.

“ _Boots with the fur_.”

“ _With the fuuur!_ ”

“ _The whole club was looking at her_.”

“Oh, god, I’m going to end up carrying him home tonight,” Kara groaned.

 “The scary part?” Iris said. “They actually sound pretty good.”

Clark and James walked back over to the rest of their little party. James had his phone out and had it aimed at the stage. “Oh, I can’t wait to show this to Winn at work tomorrow.”

“Interesting friends you’ve made here, Kara,” Clark said.

“Yeah,” Kara agreed. “They’re-“

“Super?” Clark asked with a smile.

“Yeah. Super.”


End file.
